


Viewpoints

by Cephy



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen, Minor Character(s), Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-11
Updated: 2010-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-06 07:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cephy/pseuds/Cephy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of missing-scene type pieces from the viewpoints of various characters, set early in the original FFVII game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. With A Bang (Jessie, #1 Reactor)

**Author's Note:**

> I may-- _may_\-- add to this someday, but for now it should be considered complete.

The train seemed to take forever to reach the station-- a long stretch of flashing lights and clattering rails, while none of them said anything. The other two were obviously nervous: Biggs was fidgeting in place, tapping an erratic rythym with his foot; Wedge was continually craning his neck around to look out the window.

If Jessie hadn't been nervous enough on her own, watching them would have driven her to it. Thank Gaia Barret had gone to the back-- he was a good man, at the heart of it, but he would have made things _so_ much worse.

They all jumped when the brakes shrieked; they stood and very carefully didn't look at each other as the train lurched and began to slow. Jessie swallowed hard, tasting something sharp and acid at the back of her throat.

Barret had drilled the instructions into them all, long and hard enough that she had been reciting them in her sleep. When the moment came, though, it all happened in a blur of _wait for the train to slow, leap off, surprise the guard, don't think about how hard she hit him, don't worry about the ones that the others may or may not have subdued. Keep moving, don't look back._

And to her mild surprise-- it all seemed to go so _well_. All of the codes worked, giving them a quick, effortless passage through the thick security doors, and she hadn't heard any alarms yet. They'd run into a few guards and more than a few service drones, but they hadn't really been much of a problem-- though she had to admit that was probably less due to any amount of planning on their part, and more because of the new guy.

Jessie dared a sidelong stare at him in the confines of the elevator. When he'd introduced himself as "Cloud" she'd nearly laughed, wondering why he'd choose something like _that_ for an alias-- thankfully, she'd stifled the urge, since it seemed more and more like it actually was his name. He was shorter than she kept expecting him to be. Skinnier, definitely younger. It was easy to forget that he was--

He turned his head in response to something Barret said, and Jessie shivered as she realized all over again that the blue glow in his eyes wasn't just a reflection of the overheads.

_SOLDIER_.

It was a risk, to say the least. There were a lot of stories about what Shinra did to make their SOLDIERs, and a lot more about what that much mako did to a person's mind. Cloud _seemed_ rational, seemed sane, but it was possible-- and even beyond that, SOLDIERs were Shinra, part and parcel of the whole mess that AVALANCHE had been created to fight in the first place. If it had been anyone but Tifa to bring him in, Barret would probably have shot him on the spot as a spy.

She took up her position on the upper platform and watched with mixed feelings as Barret and Cloud went on ahead with her bomb. Part of her wanted to be the one to set it, wanted to see it through to the end, and yet the rest of her was kind of relieved to pass it off. She was already having to fight off a heavy feeling in her gut, the one that came along with thoughts like _secondary fires_ and _civilian casualties_. It took a deep breath and a few mental reminders of just why they were doing this before the feeling settled.

What they were doing-- it was the right thing for the Planet. It was _right_, even if they had to break a few laws and cause a little damage here and there. And besides, she'd built her bomb properly. It would do the job the way they'd planned. Everything would be fine.

Except what was taking them so damned long?

Huffing a sigh-- and sparing a wry, sympathetic grin for Biggs-- Jessie gave in and started to pace as much as she could in the close confines of her station. She hadn't quite realized how hard the _waiting_ part would be--

Her foot hit the edge of a piece of grating, and with a sharp _crack_ broke through. She sank fast, hands hitting the floor hard, biting back one breathless curse after another as her foot slipped further into the mess of wiring and struts beneath the platform-- giving a shaky sigh of relief as it came to rest against something solid. Licking dry lips, she glanced down, and _down_, into the long stretch of mostly empty space beneath her vantage point, and tried very hard not to think about falling.

That, of course, was the moment that she heard noises from deeper in the reactor, and saw Barret come barrelling out of a tunnel and up the ladder. Jessie didn't bother to muffle her next curse, mentally starting the countdown as she tried to brace her weight and pull _up_\-- without much effect. She must have fallen through the only weak point in the entire floor, because the rest of the grating was solid and unyielding. And her boot was caught on something and there was a sharp edge beginning to cut into her calf, and she just couldn't seem to get the right leverage to twist free, and--

"You all right?"

She jerked her head up to see that Cloud had stopped, his strange mako-eyes turned in her direction. "I'm stuck," she blurted, then winced at the thin thread of panic she could hear in her own voice.

Cloud glanced once after Barret, then strode over and sank to a knee beside her, reached down--

Grasped the edge of the broken grate and bent the remaining struts back as if they were putty. He worked the jagged hole outward until Jessie had enough room to move, then he held on to her elbow for leverage as she twisted her ankle free-- it was like holding on to a rock, for all that he shifted under her tugging.

And then they were both gone, following the sound of gunfire to where Barret was clearing their path. Running behind Cloud, Jessie couldn't see much beyond that huge sword strapped across his back, wondering now whether it really _was_ as heavy as it looked. The idea of it made her shiver again, but--

But she was alive and running, so she probably didn't have much room to complain. Besides, he really couldn't be that bad a guy, if he was going with them against Shinra.

Things blurred again, until the utterly clear and breathless moment when the explosion went up behind them. Barrett punched that metal arm of his in the air and yelled something victorious; Biggs and Wedge were slapping each other on the shoulder and laughing. Jessie could only stare, watching the bloom of red against the sky, feeling the wash of hot air across her face as the dwindling edge of the blast reached them. It was-- it had _worked_, and it was beautiful.

As they scattered, heading for the rendezvous, she let that rush of accomplishment bury whatever niggling doubts remained.

It was surprising, how much it disappointed her when Cloud didn't make the train; surprising, how much of a relief it was when he swung in through the open door with soot smeared on his cheek and his hair even wilder than usual. And she wasn't the only one to feel it, she thought, though Barret grumbled enough that he might have convinced himself otherwise.

Feeling daring, Jessie pulled up a corner of her scarf and wiped the soot off Cloud's face, watching him look adorably perplexed, almost cross-eyed as he followed her hand. Standing so close, she couldn't help but be reminded how short he was, but she was also reminded of the easy way he'd taken down the guards-- and she realized, quite suddenly, that she could end up with a bit of a crush if she kept on being _reminded_ like that.

Tifa, Jessie thought wryly, would probably have something to say about that.

Still, she found herself smiling as she followed the others up front, as the train closed in on Sector 7 and home.


	2. Promises, Promises (Cloud, Seventh Heaven)

The city was-- not like he remembered it. Which was a ridiculous thing to think, because _of course_ it wasn't the same, it had been--

It had--

He hadn't been there in a while. Of course things would have changed. And if the sight of the pillar and the plate taking up the entire sky above felt a little-- stifling, well, that was just because he'd spent most of his time above the Plate while in training. That sort of thing took time to get used to.

He entered the Seventh Heaven, and as always his eyes went automatically to the bar and the newly-familiar figure of Tifa behind it. He couldn't say he was surprised that Tifa had ended up owning a bar in one of the rougher parts of the city, that kind of made sense when he thought about it. And he wasn't even surprised that said bar had ended up being the headquarters for a terrorist movement. Tifa had always done her own thing, after all, whether that was learning to fight or running off on her father or, apparently, taking on the Shinra Corporation.

Tifa turned, looking up towards him, and Cloud let his eyes skitter away from her just before they made contact. It was good to see her again, after-- after so many years. It really was. At the same time, the sight of her just made him a little uneasy, somehow. There were times when it just seemed-- unreal. Like she couldn't possibly be there even though he could plainly see that she was. It was-- unsettling, to say the least, because he couldn't quite figure out _why_. People moved on, people changed; the fact that she was there should not have made him feel so-- cold.

He wondered-- she looked at him sometimes like she might know why. He wondered, for the space of a breath, whether he should ask her.

Barret came blustering in as usual, the door banging off the wall with a sharp enough sound that Cloud actually flinched, leaning back against a table to cover the motion. By the time Barret and the others had vanished downstairs, all Cloud felt was irritation. And though he glanced sidelong at Tifa as he went to sit by the bar, rubbing a hand over his eyes, knowing that there had been something-- but no, it was gone.

With a rattle of ice, Tifa mixed him a drink and slid it across the bar. "I'm glad you made it back all right," she said, hesitantly.

"What are you talking about?" he replied after a beat. "This job wasn't tough."

"Still."

The look in her eyes made him shove back and step away, but she called after him. "Cloud-- are you all right?"

_Hey, you okay? Hang in there._

He didn't turn around. "Of course."

"You just look tired, I guess."

He thought about that for a second. Tired. That was probably it. He'd obviously been-- sick, or something, when she'd found him at the station. He hated to admit it, but he didn't quite remember how he'd got there in the first place, for one, so that was a pretty good indication that something had been wrong. And sure, he felt fine now, but even SOLDIERs needed sleep, and he admittedly hadn't been doing much of that lately. "Yeah, maybe," he eventually muttered, and heard her sigh.

"You'd better go on down below," she went on after a beat, turning away to wipe down the bar. "You know what Barret's like."

He snorted at that, but made his way over to the elevator and hit the switch to make it descend. What a joke-- hidden doors, secret hideouts. Kind of fun in a spy-novel sort of way, he supposed, but still, seriously? And of course he fought with Barret, _again_, because the man just couldn't seem to keep his temper and like hell Cloud was going to back down to someone like that. He was back upstairs and making for the door when Tifa finally chased him down, catching his arm. "Cloud, please—"

"I'm sorry, Tifa," he said, not looking at her. "This has nothing to do with me."

"So you're really just leaving? Even after—" He heard her sigh, and her hand on his arm tightened just a bit. "You promised, don't you remember?"

Standing practically in the doorway, Cloud stood uncomfortably still and listened while Tifa talked about something six years gone, a promise that he'd made-- and he could kind of remember it, listening to the words. The well in the middle of their village. Telling her about his dream to be a SOLDIER. Vowing to come help her if she needed it. That-- he remembered that. That was real. Strange that it had slipped his mind, but hey, it had been a long time, and he'd been busy.

"I'm not a hero," he said shortly. "And I'm not famous."

"But you got your dream, didn't you? You're a SOLDIER."

_Just like Sephiroth_, he heard his own voice say, and shivered. He didn't answer her.

"So? Come on. You promised."

For just a second, he continued to hesitate. "Fine," he eventually agreed, sighing. It wasn't that he particularly believed in what they were about, touchy-feely stuff about the Planet and all. But he didn't really think fondly about Shinra, and the money would be nice. And it wasn't like he was doing anything better with his time. "Why not."


	3. And We All Fall Down (Tifa, #5 Reactor)

She tried not to look like she was watching Cloud, really she did. The looks Barret kept giving her meant that she wasn't doing a perfect job of it, but Cloud at least didn't seem to notice--

Cloud didn't seem to notice her much at all.

Not that she _wanted_ him to, not like-- it's just that she'd got used to the idea of Cloud joining SOLDIER and coming back the hero and keeping his promise, got used to the memory of him always looking at her from the corners of his eyes when they'd been kids. It had been weird, maybe, but also a little-- flattering. In a town the size of Nibelheim, there were only so many options, and a girl liked to know she was able to turn some heads, right? Liked to know she was wanted. And now-- he didn't even remember.

He really was different. But, well, she supposed he'd always been a bit odd, even as a child. And the SOLDIER process had to change a person.

But he was there, with her and the others; he was helping them. He seemed to have shaken off whatever had been wrong with him when she'd found him at the station— and she tried not to think about the strange, empty look in his eyes when she'd first seen them, tried not to wonder about the smudges of rusty brown that had been on his clothes. He seemed fine. He had to be fine.

SOLDIERS were supposed to be indestructible, right?

He certainly looked the part as they worked their way down into the reactor, slashing the guards and maintenance drones out of his path with an ease that even Barret couldn't match, running ahead in long, easy strides to clear the way. He swung that giant sword of his around like it weighed nothing. When she'd tried hefting it herself, on the one rare occasion he'd left it leaning by the bar, she could barely get it an inch off the ground.

It felt like they crawled around through the guts of the reactor for hours before they finally found the core, where the air was blood-warm and smelled sharp and bitter. Tifa moved forward, eager to get the job over with and get out again— for all that she didn't remember much about the Nibelheim reactor, it still felt a little too similar for comfort— and then she noticed that Cloud had fallen back.

Cloud was standing very still in the center of the walkway, in fact, and his eyes had gone empty again like they had been at the station. Alarmed, Tifa took a step before him— just as he winced, one hand coming up to clutch at his head. And while she watched, his knees buckled under him, sending him to the floor.

"Cloud!"

The muscles of his shoulder were tight as wire when she touched him, and her tentative little shake didn't move him at all. He did blink up at her, regardless, blink until the life seemed to come back into his eyes. "Tifa?" he murmured.

"Are you all right?"

Cloud drew a slow breath, opened his mouth with a puzzled frown— and Barret chose that moment to turn around. "Come on, SOLDIER-boy, get a hold of yourself. We got a bomb to set!"

Tifa let herself take a moment to glare at Barret's departing back., When she turned back to Cloud he was shaking his head, standing. "He's right," Cloud said in a normal tone, like nothing had happened. "Let's hurry."

They were almost out. That was all she could think, later— they had been so close to getting out, the outer gates were just a short distance away. Which is what made Shinra's trap all the harder to take. The soldier robot, whatever it was, was quick, and dangerous, and made her hands ache all the way to her shoulders whenever she managed to hit it. She felt a little ashamed of that, when she caught sight of the deep, sparking rents in its armor where Cloud had managed to connect, but she gritted her teeth and fought on, trying to focus on the weak points between the metal plates.

Her hand darted into a crack, pulled out a heavy black mess of cables that snapped gratifyingly when she pulled, making the left side of the robot shudder and sag. From across the way, Cloud shouted and took the advantage, going right in close for a blurring series of strikes that—

That set off a series of sparks, a cascade of them, growing and flaring until—

Barret pushed her to the ground as the thing exploded right in front of them, and she lay there with her arms over her head until the world stopped shaking. Eventually, though, the roar faded and the tremors seemed to settle, and she looked up tentatively. "Barret?" she called. Muttered curses answered her from the side. "Cloud?"

Silence.

Tifa sat up, looking— and saw only a gaping hole and empty space where the robot had been. Where Cloud had been. "Cloud!"

"Don't—" Cloud's voice said from somewhere, only to break off into a cough. "Don't come too close; the edge looks like it could go at any second."

She stood, and took a short step forward— and gasped, finally catching sight of the figure hanging from a torn metal beam over a whole lot of empty space, on the far side of the hole. Barret's cursing paused as he came up beside her and noticed the same, only to start up again a second later. "We gotta go," the big man said, "this place is gonna blow, Tifa."

"He's right," Cloud said. "I can't hang on much longer anyway, and there's nowhere to climb to. Worry about yourselves; get out of here."

"Cloud—" Tifa started, only to break off as Barret grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "What are you doing? Barret, we've got to help him."

"Not a damn thing we can do," Barret answered gruffly.

"But—"

The sound of the reactor blowing was one she'd never forget, shearing metal and shattering concrete and snapping wires all combining with the hiss of released mako. It almost sounded— alive. Alive, and angry.

As the tremors spread, Tifa staggered— and as if in slow motion, she saw Cloud's hand slip, shaken loose with an insulting ease. Cloud's body fell, following the wreckage of the Shinra robot in a plummet towards the city below. Tifa didn't know if she screamed as she reached out in a futile attempt to catch him.


	4. Deja Vu All Over Again (Aeris, Sector 5)

Aeris nearly choked when the body crashed through her roof and landed in her garden, feeling like she'd just jumped back in time-- especially when the body that stood up was dressed in SOLDIER charcoal, and brushed itself off with that same air of _I meant to do that, honest_. And even though it had been long enough that she should have been over it, it still _hurt_ somehow to see blond hair instead of black. It's not like she could have really hoped--

"Cloud", he introduced himself, and Aeris managed a smile as she introduced herself in turn.

Someone else was at the door, footstep scraping on wood. Aeris looked up, saw the suit and started to smile, before the figure stepped out of the shadows and she saw the red hair and the smirk. Tseng was one thing; she'd known him since they were little. Reno, though-- Reno always made her nervous, despite Tseng's reassurances. There was just something about him; she could never quite anticipate what he was going to do.

She saw Cloud notice the newcomers-- also saw the little frown that he himself probably wasn't aware of, and the way he stepped immediately between Aeris and the door. Her heart kind of ached at that, but in a good way. A better way, anyway. It was enough that she asked him on the spot to be her bodyguard, and she knew she'd made a good choice when in a matter of minutes he'd got her out through the roof and all the way home.

Zack couldn't have done better.

Her mother wasn't happy. Which wasn't surprising-- after all, the last time Aeris had brought home a SOLDIER, it had ended with her crying in her room for a week. Aeris could forgive her mother for telling Cloud to leave during the night, even if it did mean she tore her hem as she snuck out the window to catch up with him.

He seemed a little bemused as he followed her up on top of the slide in the playground, but he settled down beside her without any indication of impatience, eyes turning towards the sky as he leaned back on his hands. And in that moment Aeris couldn't take her eyes off him. She was so sure she didn't know him, but-- at the same time, he reminded her so very much of Zack. The way he ran his hand through his hair when he was trying not to look uncertain, the way he carried that sword slung across his back. Little things that she thought she'd forgotten. But it wasn't _just_ that, there was something else, something nagging at her--

And that was when it hit her. It wasn't just his mannerisms or his eyes that were making her think of Zack, it was-- well, the name "Cloud" couldn't be that common, especially paired with that shock of hair. It was only that Zack had always called him by some nickname or other that it had taken her so long to make the connection.

Aeris had to raise a hand to smother a giggle. He really _did_ look a bit like a chocobo.

Zack had come to her one afternoon-- ages ago, it seemed-- with a bemused grin and a story about a cadet that had taken a shine to him. Zack being Zack, he'd taken the boy under his wing, and generally made himself the friendly pest that he was. Aeris had heard so much about the cadet, by the time they'd-- by the time it had all ended, she figured she was probably as much his friend as Zack was, even though she'd never actually met him. From all accounts, the two had been inseparable.

The big question was, then-- five years later, and here was Cloud. So where was Zack and why did Cloud not seem to remember him?

When Corneo's cart rattled by, Aeris nodded agreeably as Cloud told her to go home, nodded again as he talked about going to rescue this Tifa of his. And then gave him a smile that would have made Zack very, very nervous, before starting off in a run to follow the cart towards Wall Market.

If he thought she was going to let him out of her sight before she figured this whole mess out, he had another thing coming.


	5. The Man In The Mirror (Cloud, the Honeybee)

There was something strange in the air in this place. That had to be it-- as soon as he stepped into the room things started to go a bit hazy. He wouldn't put it past them to have some kind of narcotic in the incense, and the scent was certainly strong enough to cover any number of vices.

He shouldn't be here. He wasn't sure why he was here, really, except for the vague idea of finding something else to let him pass as a woman--

He rubbed a hand over his face and tried to breathe through the growing pounding in his head. Gods. What the hell was he doing?

Something moved. His turned automatically, focus sharpening-- something in the corner, there, something--

He moved forward, got in close enough to reach out. The something raised its head and looked at him with mako eyes.

And the space behind Cloud's eyes exploded into pain.

_It's started moving_.

His cheek hurt— pressed against the carpet, he must have fallen. His chest hurt— he couldn't get enough air, couldn't seem to get anything past the tightness in his throat. He dragged both arms up to curl around his head, squeezing in as if to hold himself together.

_Help,_ he thought, faintly. _Someone--_

_Wake up_, something else thought to him. And in a moment of startling clarity he wondered what it meant that that not all of the voices in his head were his own.

Darkness roiled, and then Cloud opened his eyes to see a big man wearing not much of anything bending over him. "Wha—" he started, jerking up and away, then winced at the renewed stab of pain behind his eyes. "Ngh."

"Looks like you're okay— I'm so relieved!" the man said. Cloud just shook his head, inching away slowly, moving carefully so as not to jar his head. Though it did seem to be getting better, the ache ebbing into something bearable. He was still out in the hallway in a matter of seconds and ready to run the hell away from all the weird shit going on in this place, but--

Tifa.

Damn.

He turned reluctantly around and, when he saw the hostess nowhere in sight, made for the door at the back and the dressing room beyond. He took a deep breath, not quite coughing at the thick fog of perfume, and felt his face flush red when three sets of shocked eyes swiveled in his direction.

"Uh, miss?" he managed to ask the nearest. "Do you think I could borrow that makeup?"


	6. Clothes Make The Man (Tifa, the sewers)

Cloud certainly looked relieved as he stripped off the last bits of his costume, tugging his own clothes straight beneath it all. As Tifa watched, he scooped up a handful of water to rub at his face, and then grimaced like he wished he hadn't. Tifa herself felt a bit green at the thought of it; the water in this particular part of the sewers was running clear, but it was cold against her legs and still scummed over where it touched the walls. Cloud kept at it, though, until the makeup was pretty much gone, and then pulled up the corner of his shirt to rub his skin dry.

"It's a shame to do that, you know-- the girls did a very good job," Aeris said, also watching, and there was a worrisome sort of glint in her eyes. Cloud made a face at her and continued to rub.

Tifa glanced sidelong at Aeris, found Aeris looking back-- and then smiled. "They really did," she said. "And where did you get that tiara? It was just _lovely_, it really brought out your eyes."

Cloud froze, and turned his head slowly to give Tifa a wary, startled look. Aeris' shoulders shook, and Tifa herself very nearly ruined the whole thing by giggling, but managed to bite her lip in time and turn it into a sunny smile instead. It felt a bit tight around the edges-- the whole thing felt more than a bit hysterical, but they had to do _something_ to keep their minds off--

"Oh, Cloud was a champion shopper in Wall Market," Aeris said to Tifa, "He had a knack for finding the bargains. I'm tempted to take him back and make him find something for me!"

They both turned back to Cloud, whose shoulders were hunched defensively, and Tifa made a contemplative sound. "That's not a bad idea; I could use a few things myself."

"There, there, Cloud," Aeris said teasingly, with a pat on the cheek and a soft smile that somehow took the sting out of the words. "It's not your fault you make such a pretty girl."

Tifa could _see_ Cloud forcing himself to relax as he rolled his eyes, though he couldn't do anything about the way his face was a flaming red. "Shut _up_."


	7. All In A Day's Work (Reno, Sector 7 Plate)

As if, as _if_ they had a SOLDIER. Tseng had records of every person to come out of that program, knew where each of them was if they were still alive, even if all the lights weren't still on upstairs. Most of them seemed content to stay the hell out of Midgar, that ruckus a month back aside, so who the hell was the blond bit with the sword? And how the hell did a bunch of hippie-freaks like AVALANCHE manage to bag him?

He wasn't prepared to fight a SOLDIER. No backup, not enough potions. Yeah, technically a Turk was _supposed_ to be prepared for everything, but some things just weren't covered under the chocobo scout pledge, y'know, and an angry mako-charged swordsman trying to kill you was one of 'em.

Fuck.

Get the job done, at least, he told himself grimly. If he went down, it wasn't gonna be with the job half-finished, because then Tseng would find a way to bring him _back_, and _then_ he'd kill him. Or worse. So, get the job done.

One of the hippies screamed at him as he pressed the button, and the bruises on his ribs let him know better than to ignore her, but it was the SOLDIER his eyes stuck to, watching for the tells that would keep him alive. He winced a bit when he deflected the next swing of that freakishly large sword with his mag rod, and not only because the jolt of the hit went straight through his shoulder and all the way down to his fucking _ankle_\-- the rod was sturdy, but it wasn't meant to hold up to this sort of punishment. A few more hits like that one and it would be so much junk. And he _liked_ that model, damn it. Had spent no few hours putting some-- _personal_ touches on it.

Where the _hell_ was his escape route?

At last, he heard the steady thump of the chopper coming up from the side, and he hauled himself aboard while Tseng provided the distraction-- collapsed to the deck and just lay there while gunfire and explosions chased them away. Waited, trying to breathe and wondering when it had become so difficult, for someone to help him stop bleeding on the floor, because cleaning the chopper was always a pain in the ass.

Something green and warm washed over him, and the pain faded just a bit. He cracked an eye with a grin and then felt the half-formed comment die silently when he saw their hostage looking down at him instead of a familiar suit. She looked-- sad, and angry, and scared, but determined, and her hands were glowing faintly as they draw away from him. They were also vividly red, which kind of made him think cleaning the chopper was going to be the least of his worries. Come to think of it, the metallic taste that had been in his mouth for a while was all too familiar, and he couldn't quite feel his toes.

Through fading vision he saw Tseng move their little Ancient away, and then the boss was dropping to his knees next to Reno's head. Unfortunately, before Reno could make the appropriate comment about that, he blacked out.


	8. Rage Against (Tifa, Shinra tower)

She thought she was probably angrier than she could ever remember being in her life.

She was shaking with it, her hands wanting to ball into fists no matter how many times she made herself relax them. It rose like acid into her throat, burning, choking off her voice, and every time she managed to swallow it back she remembered Biggs complementing her drinks, heard Wedge laughing, saw Jessie winking at her. Gone, all of them. Her home, her bar, all of those people—all because Shinra had tried to get at _them_. There was guilt there, for sure, bitter guilt in the pit of her stomach, but she kept that down, covered it over with anger.

There was still ash under her fingernails.

She thought she'd been angry when she'd left Nibelheim behind, angry over what happened there. But that had been— more like an act of god, a force of nature. This time—

This time, there was definitely someone she could blame.

Shinra had dropped the plate. Shinra had destroyed her home. Shinra had killed her friends.

Shinra was going to _pay_.

They worked their way upwards through the tower with a grim kind of determination, none of them talking except to call out positions when they fought, barely slowing as they moved up floor by floor. She thought they were making progress when they managed to spy on a meeting— she was itching to jump down there and take down the President right then and there, especially after hearing him talk about her Sector so callously. Surprisingly enough, it was Cloud who put a hand on her arm when she made a little, involuntary jerk towards the grate, and mouthed Aeris' name at her.

The reminder of why they were truly there was like a shock of cold water. Taking a deep breath, Tifa relaxed her fists and nodded carefully, and after a moment Cloud let her go.

The slimy-looking scientist led them up into some kind of laboratory, and Tifa shivered, because there, too, somehow reminded her of things better left unremembered. There had been capsules, very much like that one, in the Nibelheim reactor—

Cloud went over to it like he couldn't help himself, drawn forward on dragging feet. He peered through the window on the door— and reeled backwards with quick, stumbling steps, like he'd been shoved. Grabbed at his head and curled in on himself, collapsing to the floor

"Cloud!" Tifa rushed over to him, pulling at his hand— which, to her surprise, came away easily, leaving his face unguarded. He looked— Tifa paused, startled. He looked incredibly young, bewildered. Terrified.

"Did you see it?" he whispered, eyes wide. "It moved. Jenova. It's still alive."

"What is?" Barret looked back and forth between Cloud and the door, walked over and looked through the window despite Cloud's weak gesture of protest. "Shit!" Barret shouted, jerking back. "Where's its damned head? This place is fucked up. Come on, let's get out of here." Casting one quick look around, Barret made a bee-line for the elevator.

Cloud slowly pulled himself to his feet, leaning on Tifa's proffered arm for just a minute. He still looked pale, shaken. "Are you all right?" she asked.

He shrugged, shaking off her hand, and walked away. Tifa glanced back at the door with its glowing window, wondering— then quickly moved to follow him.


	9. We're Sorry, The Number You Have Dialed... (Cloud, Midgar Gate #5)

Sephiroth was alive.

Outside the city gates was all burnt rock and dust, and the scarred metal of the walls stretching out on either side.

Sephiroth was alive. The rest of it— the President's death, the rise of his son, the effective exile from the city— it all faded into insignificance, somehow. If Sephiroth was truly alive, none of that could possibly matter.

He looked back only once, at the gate that was securely barred against them, at the overhanging shadow of the ledge that had let them down beyond it. He looked out, then, instead, over the sweep of stone, not sure what he was looking for. It wasn't like he was expecting to find Sephiroth waiting for them, to see a figure in black walking away into the distance— it wouldn't be that easy. But he looked anyway, sweeping his eyes from the hint on green to the south, to the broken cliffs to the west—

_You--_

He shook his head, frowning.

_Cloud, run!_

He winced, and shut his eyes against the sudden surge of a headache. He ran a hand over his face, and wondered why he was surprised that it didn't come away wet.

"Hey, SOLDIER-boy, you listenin' to me?"

He turned to frown at Barret's impatient scowl. "Kalm. I heard you."

Barret grumbled something, but Cloud had already tuned him out, thoughts going back to where they had started. Because if Sephiroth was alive, it probably meant he'd have to kill him again. And he— wasn't a hundred percent sure he could do that.

Cloud glanced back to the west, just once, and thought _I wish to the gods you were here_. Though afterwards, he couldn't have said who he might have been talking to.


End file.
